Briefs: Silicon Valley plans regional wireless net

Jan 27, 2006

A coalition of businesses and local government is working on plans for a huge wireless Internet network in the Silicon Valley region.

While it sounds like bringing coals to Newcastle, the project is a big jump in the tech-heavy area due to the sheer size of the proposed project -- a total of some 1,500 square miles that is home to scores of high-tech companies and thousands of residents.

"You can certainly see a future where pretty much every place you go you could have free wireless access," tech analyst Rob Endrele told the San Jose Mercury News. "If we really want Silicon Valley to not turn into the Rust Belt, we need to be competitive."

The Mercury said Friday that the Silicon Valley Network's goal would be a network that pales the roughly 47 square-mile wireless network planned in nearby San Francisco.

The coalition hasn't set a schedule for deployment or even a means of paying for the project; however, requests of proposals from potential vendors will be released in April.

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